District is canning AR this year, after using for many, many years. Lots of money invested in it, along with book purchases. It seems the rest of the state is still using it. Curious, any thoughts? Anyone else dumping it this year?
I think AR is OK but I could live without it. Not all books read should be tested. We are a test crazy! Students should read books for a valid purpose and a test is not a good enough reason. I would be OK with cutting AR out at my school and better yet AM!
We lost AR last year. I like it not for the testing, but for the accountability of knowing that the kids are reading. That was the one way I had of being able to keep track of who actually read a book. I'm sad for you, maybe your school can come up with something else.
I think the primary reason is money. Reading Renaissance has changed its policies, and schools must now pay for the web-based testing as opposed to buying the individual tests per book. The cost for our school is way high, and our budget is strained.
I think that AR was a great way for some of my reluctant but capable boys in particular to be motivated--they loved to rack up those points and were very competitive. I am thinking this summer about ways to encourage reading and accountability without turning every book into a project. I'd love to hear ideas about how others manage this!
I wish my school would dump it. Many are either not using it, or using it in the wrong way. Like a pp already mentioned, I used it as an accountability tool. I stopped using it last year and instead started having the kids journal about their books. I think I can learn a lot more from their journals than I can from a score they received on an AR test. Plus the journaling will be a nice step towards implementing Common Core.
OH, don't I wish we would dump AR. I teach Kinder and our principal expects classes to end the year with over 100 points. AR doesn't even hint at quality comprehension questions.
Guess it's best to get these little ones trained and ready for computerized multiple choice testing...since this will be their academic life...dislike
My district used to have AR, but stopped offering it in my school. I never used AR with my K classes, but I did offer it to the few advanced readers I had in my classes. I can't imagine being required to have 100 pts by the end of the year. YIKES!
This year I used Raz-Kids with my K students. They did it during Daily 5 (Listen to Reading and Read to Self) and Free Choice Center Time. I love that it has several options. Children can listen to the book. They can read the book themselves. They can tape themselves reading the book. They can take a short test after reading the book. (If they don't pass the test, they have to go back to reread the book.) As the teacher, I can see which items they missed on the tests such as finding the main idea..., which books/levels they've read, the time they accessed the books, how many times... and there are also worksheets/activities that go along with many of the books and reinforce skills students missed. I started out by leveling the students using F & P Benchmark Leveling. Then I assigned students to their level. I also opened up the Book Room so they could read other levels. I can listen to the recordings of the students' reading the books and send them comments/encouragements. There is an option for teachers to assign benchmark readings... and you can do online running records if you want. The leveled books use the F & P levels to A-Z. It is a subscription. I paid $80 and could have up to 36 students. I also subscribed to Reading A to Z which provided even more leveled e-books for them to read. I still allow students to borrow books from my classroom library, but it is nice that they can access Raz-Kids from home at any time to read those books, too. Some of my students were very motivated. I was happy with Raz-Kids because my ultimate goal is to get them reading.
We have AR. I like the program, but don't like the reward program at my school. We utilize the online program and have access to many more books than we did when we had to buy programs for our server. I have caught kids taking the test without having read the book to try to rack up enough points to earn the prize. I also find that after reading, some can't tell you what the book was about after a few days. I also find that if a book is not AR, they are not interested in reading it. Such a shame.
We had it in my school back 15 or 20 years ago. I never liked it much. Weak comprehension questions, not an effective way to assess kids at all. I don't like the idea of having to "bribe" kids to read.
OH, don't I wish we would dump AR. I teach Kinder and our principal expects classes to end the year with over 100 points.
Whoa, what?!? My DS just finished 3rd grade, and he was the ONLY lower grade student to earn 100+ points. He is at a relatively high-achieving school, but everyone else who earned 100+ was in grades 4-6.
OP, the investment is not a total loss. AR has some really good books, and I assume they will remain in circulation at your school.(?)
If you lost AR and want something close to it you could use Book Adventure. My students use it during the summer months and seem to really like it and it's free.
I wish we would lose AR. With ALL of the other things that we have to do, there just isn't that much time to devote to AR. I teach K and we have to read every test to the children. It works out better for the older kids who are able to take the tests independently--as long as teachers use it the way it was intended to be used. The original intent was an INCENTIVE program--not a MANDATORY program with punishment if you didn't earn a certain number of points in a given time frame.
We bought this a few years ago and never got it up and running. Apparently, we only bought the books...the tests were separate, and MORE money...the sales rep didn't do a very good job explaining the product...or...maybe she did, and thought she would rope us in and then have us realize we would have to put more money out for the tests! Anyway, it didn't work. We have the books, and not the tests. My children had it at their own school, and I am glad to say we didn't follow through with the program!
We stopped about 5 years ago, because the AR tests are very low level questions and we gear our curriculum around more higher level questioning. It's not that you need to stop using the books, they're still good reads!
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06-30-2013, 02:46 PM
